Free Dream World by T.G. Haynes Page B

towards the upper platform and bar.
    â€˜Who’s in the lift?’ Kate asked.
    â€˜You can’t tell?’
    She tried to focus, but it was no use. ‘No.’
    â€˜Yet it’s your dream,’ he said. ‘Don’t you find that strange?’
    â€˜Well, yes,’ she admitted.
    â€˜Er, I hate to press you, but a blue door would be really good right about now.’
    â€˜Yes, of course, sorry.’
    As the lift approached the top of the tower Kate conjured up a door for Dexter. He stole one last kiss from her lips before dashing through it. The instant he closed the door behind him, it swiftly vanished. Slightly concerned that the lift seemed to be yet another part of the dream over which she had no control, Kate was in half a mind to summon a blue door for herself, but curiosity got the better of her and she hung around to see who it was who had entered her dream. She had just started to get dressed when the lift halted. The doors opened and out stepped Richard.
    Oddly enough, in spite of the fact she had expected to indulge in an ‘X’ rated fantasy with him earlier in the dream, Kate found herself feeling embarrassed to be caught by Richard whilst she was wearing next to nothing and she hastened to put her dress back on. As he strode towards her she could tell that he was angry about something, yet was doing his best not to let it show. He complemented her on her choice of venue, then remarked, ‘I take it you’ve had a pleasant evening?’
    â€˜Most enjoyable, thank you.’
    â€˜Alone?’
    â€˜I’ve been waiting for you,’ she lied.
    â€˜Half undressed?’ his voice had a slight edge to it.
    Her pulse quickened as she sought for an answer that might placate him. ‘Well, I couldn’t resist from indulging in a little fantasy of my own.’
    To try and make the untruth sound more convincing she caressed her breasts with her right hand.
    â€˜I see,’ he said.
    Thankfully, he chose to ignore the provocative gesture. Instead, he cast his eyes around as if half expecting to find someone hiding in the bar. Only when he seemed satisfied that it was empty did he gesture for Kate to spin around. Although she wasn’t overly happy to turn her back on him, she did as she was told. Taking hold of the zip of her dress, he fastened it. His hand then toyed with the back of her neck. His fingers felt icy and alien and were in no way arousing.
    â€˜Such a pretty neck,’ he said.
    Kate felt an overwhelming urge to conjure up a door. To her immense relief, one popped into existence right beside them. She turned to face Richard in order to bid him goodbye. As she did so, his grip grew a little tighter.
    â€˜What are you doing?’ she stammered.
    â€˜A parting gift,’ he replied, loosening his grip as he did so.
    As his hand dropped to his side, Kate felt something around her neck. Looking down she found that she was wearing a magnificent diamond necklace.
    â€˜I don’t know what to say,’ she said, fingering the item of jewellery.
    â€˜You don’t need to say anything. Just be careful,’ he added.
    She looked at him, quizzically.
    â€˜Even in your dreams there are those who won’t hesitate to take advantage of you,’ he told her.
    Kate half thought about granting him a parting kiss, just to show that there were no hard feelings, only the memory of his hand tightening around her neck was not a pleasant one, so she took her leave of him with a simple goodbye and stepped through the blue door.
    Kate seemed to take longer than usual to wake up. As her eyes opened and re-focussed on the real world she spotted a necklace lying next to her head on the pillow. Much to her amazement, it looked exactly like the one that Richard had presented to her in the dream. The other odd thing was, the two pads which should have been attached to her temples had fallen loose. Kate sat bolt upright and glanced around. It seemed